Chuck v The Coming Storm Playlist Challenge
by truthseekr
Summary: In response to the Playlist Challenge, here's a 10 song Chuck shuffle including songs by Blue October, Passenger, Radiohead, Ray LaMontange, Jacob Miller, The Maccabees, M. Ward, The Pixies, White Lies, and Doves.


**Chuck v. The Broken Heart Playlist April 2009**

**Farringtongirl issued a challenge in **_**Chuck's Angst Playlist January 2009**_ **to (1) hit the shuffle and (2) write only within the song's time frame. Now it's up to you to decide whether she accomplished her mission.**

**1.****My Never by Blue October**Chuck's POV

Chuck sat outside the Orange Orange alone silently spooning his frozen yogurt. There was no way that he would go inside where that...Agent Cylon was. He sighed. Where did _she_ go? How could _she_ be gone just like that? No note, no call, nothing.

_. . . . . . . . . . Will you think of me in time? _He had no hope.

_. . . . . . . . . . It's never my luck, so never mind._ Forget it.

_. . . . . . . . . . I want to say your name but the pain starts again._ What is your real name? He'd never find out now.

_. . . . . . . . . . It's never my luck, so never mind. _Forget it.

_. . . . . . . . . . I had a dream that you were with me it wasn't my fault... _

But it was his fault. He had given General Beckman had all the evidence she needed. He'd just handed it right to her. Why couldn't he have just figured out how to use a little discretion or at least disable the cameras in the courtyard for crying out loud? It wasn't as if Sarah incriminated herself? Wait, incriminated? What did she do wrong?

Chuck resolved to call her; maybe she would still be there at her apartment. And then they could talk at least. Why didn't she answer her phone? Could he've been wrong? Did she not feel anything? Of course, she felt something. But where did she go? Why is the sun shining when all he could feel was this cloud of grey?

**2.****Wicked Man's Rest by Passenger**Chuck POV

_I'd meet you anywhere. Just answer the phone. Just answer . . . the phone. This is crazy. _He swallowed hard to try and get the lump in his throat to go down. _I'll go over there. It'll just be another off-site install. _

Retracing his footsteps over to the Buy More, Chuck's mind hadn't settled on any of the emotions that would surely follow: bitterness, jealousy, and frustration. _Why does the government get to have her and I don't? _

Chuck went straight to a nerd herder, cranked the engine and took off. While he drove to her place he tried to work out what he was going to say to her.

_I'm sorry that I got you fired _just didn't seem appropriate_. I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my feelings buried _wasn't true_. Why couldn't I have just trusted you? Yeah, that's it. I should've trusted her. _

Getting out of the car with the off-site install paperwork still in hand he almost forgot to close the car door. He ran through the lobby of her hotel and straight into the elevator. _Couldn't these doors close faster, _he thought as he punched the button to her floor in rapid succession. It was hard to imagine what he'd never had before. Yet the reason that he couldn't be with her made him want her even more. He rushed to her doorway, his knocks gave way to pounding. But there was no answer. She was gone. Chuck looked down in his captive hand at the off-site install paperwork. He leaned his back on the door and let out a long gasp as his despair began to rise.

As a long moment, he accepted the fact that she was gone. He turned around, scribbled something on the paperwork, and slid it under the door. From inside the empty room, the Buy More off-site installation paperwork was complete. It read, '_Bye Sarah Walker_'.

**3.****Reckoner by Radiohead**Sarah POV

Sarah drove listlessly on the freeway as she waited for the search on his father to finish. She thought back to the last time she almost lost Chuck Bartowski. She remembered all of the things that raced in her head while she was stuck in the freezer at the Weinerlicious when he was taken away by Longshore. She remembered that night well and could feel the desperation that loomed as she drove through downtown Los Angeles looking, searching for Chuck and the CIA extraction agent. Looking back she had no idea the lengths that she had been willing to go to just to have one more moment, one talk with him.

And here she was again back in the same position. Just wanting more time. Just wanting to say goodbye. Wait, she didn't want that. She just wanted him. Something she would never have. Something that was never meant to be. And yet she couldn't help but think he was all she needed. Through it all, all she could think of were his last words to her as he continued to apologize, not realizing he had gotten her in so much trouble. She knew it wasn't his doing, he was not to blame. He was caught in the government's web just as much as she was--neither of which was their own doing. Sure, she had made a life for herself in the CIA. She believed in her duty and the things she was protecting. But, she couldn't help but think that she was just as trapped as he was and neither of them had a way out. That was until they met one another. He had given her hope.

She thought back to that night on the roof of that building. She didn't know how far she had been prepared to go until she got there and saw Chuck handcuffed and ready to be moved underground. She had reached behind to the waistband of her pants and slowly griped her gun. All she was pleading for were a few more moments with him. As he mumbled on about his family she couldn't say anything. All she could do was feel the tears well up in her eyes and then she heard a shot. Her duty kicked in...she wasn't going to lose him that night.

After that night, she was resolved not to lose him again, but then it happened all again. This time it wasn't Fulcrum's doing, it was her own fault. She was losing him because she cared too much about him. No matter how hard she'd fought within herself to keep it hidden, it was apparent…to everyone.

**4.****You Are The Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne**Big Mike POV

What did he ever do to deserve that woman? He was pretty sure that some of the things she could do with that tongue of hers were definitely illegal in at least 14 states. In Big Mike's mind though, the only crime is that he'd missed out on diddling 'that' all those years when he was with Gladys.

He stood outside her door waiting to be let inside. When she swung open the door wearing a satin red nightie, his only response was, "Thank you Jesus!" As he carried her (legs strapped around his temple of a body) up to her bedroom, there was only one thought...actually there were two thoughts going on in his mind. The fleeting one was – church picnics were for the birds. The internet was now where the big fish roam. And boy was he lucky to reel in this Hot Tuna.

Bolognia Grimes was the best thing that ever happened to him.

**5.****Charlie Brown's Lament by Jacob Miller**Chuck POV

Ever since her dad told him to take care of her, Chuck had been looking for the right gift for Sarah for Christmas. He understood the nature and parameters of their cover relationship. But still, getting her an alarm clock just didn't seem to fit the bill now.

Chuck was a traditional guy who loved the holidays. He relished the idea of having the perfect gift for her waiting under the tree. Nothing seemed real enough to express what he was really trying to get across to her. All of the commercialism of Christmas just seemed to be so fake, almost as superficial as their fake relationship. But…he knew that there was something real between them. He wanted to get her a gift that meant something.

As he looked in store after store, he sighed. Nothing there was real. Nothing there expressed what he was trying to say—that the only thing that was real between them was ...his love for her. That's when he realized what it had to be, it had to be something special. Something to show her that she belonged in his real life. The part of his life that involved his real family, a connection grounded in the past…that could also symbolize a hope for their future together. Something like...the charm bracelet his dad gave his mom when Ellie was born.

**6.****Toothpaste Kisses by The Maccabees**Sarah POV

Sarah couldn't help but scrunch a smile while thinking back to his comment that morning in the bathroom of his apartment. How did he put it? Traditionally, he was a peppermint man but he was 'livin' on the edge' with spearmint toothpaste. She couldn't help but let a smile escape in remembrance. What bit of cleverness would he come up with next? 'Combing his gums' instead of 'brushing his teeth?' Of course, all she could think of right then was how sweet that spearmint toothpaste would've tasted if she had just dropped her toothbrush, turned, and took him in right then and there. Toothpaste kisses would've been divine. Now that would've been 'livin' on the edge', well, at least the edge of the sink.

**7.****Never Had Nobody Like You by **Morgan POV

Morgan was often mystified by the vixen. As she made her way toward him with that cat walk prowl of hers, he thanked all of the gods that watched over BuyMoria that this lone wolf had been blessed with such a sex-crazed kitten as Anna Wu. He had never had anyone like her.

He realized that it was time for the man-boy that he was, to grow up. None of the very valid 'preferences' as he called them meant a thing because the 'Morganuptials' went out the door as soon as she came in the room. He didn't know with which head he was thinking, but the truth was it didn't matter because his heart told him that he _Luh. . . Luh . _. . Liked her very much.

Morgan had never met anybody like Anna Wu.

**8.****Where Is My Mind by The Pixies**Chuck POV

What happened? Where have I been? My head is killing me. What are all of these images that keep fluttering in my mind? They're of things I've never seen before. What is this bump on my head? Why am I being pulled out of the water? Did it have something to do with being run off the pier in my herder by that black SUV?

Who is this beautiful blonde lingering over me? Is she an angel? Now my head isn't hurting so bad. How does she know my name? Why is she calling to me? Wasn't she on Baywatch? I bet she looks great running. Wait, where did that thought come from? I'm usually more respectful of women, especially those I don't know. Besides, she looks worried. I hope I didn't scare her. Oh no, what were the images I just saw of her—killing men in the desert, poisoning a guy in France, slicing a guy in a knife fight, and then shooting an unarmed police man in a Christmas tree farm. She has to be a movie star. Maybe she does her own stunts. Wait, that last image was different. It didn't look like a movie that one looked _real_. How could someone so beautiful do that?

ARGH! Who's this other guy with the cop face—he's definitely "_not pretty"_.

**9.****A Place To Hide by White Lies**Sarah POV

It was time. Were they prepared to be on their own? She didn't know but it was time to go. Sarah knew that Chuck was worth too much for the government not to send everything they had after them. But now that he had finally gotten the Intersect out of his head, maybe the government would let them go. She knew how much it meant to him and as his protector she was committed to Chuck Bartowski no matter the consequences.

She didn't think much about her future until he came along. Through the time she served as his protector something happened to change all of that. She made a promise to stand by him to keep him safe no matter what happened. And then at some point she quit seeing him as an asset, but rather as a person—a person with whom she had come to care for more than she wanted to admit. That was, until she couldn't deny it any longer.

He took hold of her hand as they drove off into the night. She promised that everything would be alright, even if she didn't know that to be true. Her reassurance would be enough for the time being. Now they had to find a place to hide before the storm began.

As she drove through the night, she wondered what his reaction would be if he truly knew all the wrongs – all of her sins that she had committed for their country. Would he understand? Would he forgive her? Would he look at her differently? Would he love her all the same as he had once professed?

In the dark black of night, she made a silent promise to him with tears in her eyes that he would be safe no matter what his response was to those questions. She was hopeful in her heart, but all the doubts in her mind wrestled within her as she increased the distance between them and the ensuing storm of government pursuers.

They reached their stopping point for the night. She looked over at him as he continued to sleep peacefully in the seat next to her. How could he be so still? Maybe there was something to be said about the calm before the storm begins.

**10.****Kingdom of Rust by Doves (Accoustic)**Chuck & Sarah POV

As the thunder rolled in the distance, they knew it was only a matter of time. He would be coming for them. Casey may have given them a head start but what would happen when he caught up to them? Casey had to know by now that Sarah had used the joint defense network to locate Chuck's dad and it was only a matter of time that Beckman would find out. Would her being an asset...to the asset keep them out of the storm this time? Did it even matter?

Just after she dismantled the GPS on the car, Chuck saw a noticeable difference in the girl next to him. It was as if Sarah was a different person – free as the blackbirds that flew overhead. They hadn't even packed a thing – they just left. This time the government wasn't going to stop them from their mission – to find Chuck's dad.

There was an unspoken trust between the two of them. There was a beauty in the simplicity of it all. While searching for his dad, they had found one another. Suddenly, Chuck realized that the girl who only shared her feelings with the subtlety of her eyes was now opening up to him in ways he could have never imagined. It wasn't that she said so much, but it was what she said. She told him how much it had pained her never to be able respond to him when he told her how he felt. She told him how hard it had been knowing that their every move was being watched. She told him how she really felt about him. The calm relief in her voice was apparent as she was finally able to trust him and tell him the things that she had fought so hard to keep hidden.

As they drove on, they continued to open up to one another. Chuck had waited for her and the wait was worth it. There was a trust, a belief, and a calm in the calamity of the coming storm.

**[Mission accomplished?]**


End file.
